NUDURA INSULATED CONCRETE FORM NEWS

Net Zero Schools in Kentucky: Models for the Future Come from Surprising Places

Dec 11, 2012

by Forbes Magazine Dec 10, 2012

"Kentucky’s crown jewel is surely its net zero Richardsville Elementary School in Warren
County. A net zero building is an edifice that produces the same
amount (or more) energy as it consumes. Net zero buildings will become
increasingly more common as renewable technologies (such as solar and
wind), and efficient end-use technologies (such as LED lighting and high
efficiency climate control systems) drop in price. But technologies
and prices alone are not the real key to creating net zero buildings.
The real trick is to apply the holistic thinking required to view a
building as a “living” entity that involves integrated planning for the
interactions of various systems and the needs of the people inside the
building.

In a net-zero building, like the Richardsville School, one generally has
to think about these interactions. This is because the affiliated
renewable energy systems are relatively costly. It becomes imperative
to design the most cost-effective and efficient building so that one can
downsize the required renewable energy source. So in the case of the
Richardsville Elementary School, an effort was made to reduce the
average energy use from 60.5 kBtu per square foot to 18.2 kBtu.

This involved investment in technologies such as natural
day-lighting, and efficient lamps, a geothermal heating and cooling
system, and insulated concrete form walls with high heat retention “R”
values."